In each of my four classes, I have students that differ greatly in ability, achievement, motivation, and parental support. I have several students with disabilities, including a student with both oppositional defiant disorder and ADHD, a student with total hearing loss in one ear, and students with ADD, ADHD, and various learning disabilities. For the student with partial hearing loss, explicit written instructions must be provided so that he can refer back to them. All directions can be posted to Edmodo for this purpose. Frequent checks must be made individually to ensure he understands the assignment and is on task.
One aspect of research that can be especially difficult for a variety of students, including students with disabilities, second language learners, and students reading below grade level, is reading and making meaning of informational texts. One of the programs available to students for research is NetTrekker, which tags each result with a reading level. The students who need additional support could be discretely directed to more accessible texts. Students could also use text to speech software, and use headphones to have the text read to them. Since Edmodo is being used for collaboration in this project, it may also be used to communicate needs to the teacher. If a student is experiencing difficulty with an aspect of the assignment, has questions, or needs additional support, they can use Edmodo to indicate those needs privately to the teacher by sending a note. This allows to teacher to address individual needs while ensuring no student feels like they are being singled out.
While every learning style and learning intelligence may not be addressed, the choices provided in both the research phase and proposal presentation phase of the project allow students a variety of choices to access and present information. Since all students do not have access to technology at home, students will be given time in class to complete each part of the project. If work requiring technology needs to be completed outside of class time, students may work on assignments during their "Learning Wave" time. Learning Wave is a homeroom-type period before lunch. The focus is literacy, but students may occasionally redirect their time to complete assignments. Like students who work slower or need more processing time, there is a place for gifted students in collaborative teams. The gifted students can serve as leaders on their teams, but should be cautioned against taking over and completing all of the work. This project can serve as a bridge to unite students from all cultures, because the topic is one that effects people regardless of race, gender, or social class.
One aspect of research that can be especially difficult for a variety of students, including students with disabilities, second language learners, and students reading below grade level, is reading and making meaning of informational texts. One of the programs available to students for research is NetTrekker, which tags each result with a reading level. The students who need additional support could be discretely directed to more accessible texts. Students could also use text to speech software, and use headphones to have the text read to them. Since Edmodo is being used for collaboration in this project, it may also be used to communicate needs to the teacher. If a student is experiencing difficulty with an aspect of the assignment, has questions, or needs additional support, they can use Edmodo to indicate those needs privately to the teacher by sending a note. This allows to teacher to address individual needs while ensuring no student feels like they are being singled out.
While every learning style and learning intelligence may not be addressed, the choices provided in both the research phase and proposal presentation phase of the project allow students a variety of choices to access and present information. Since all students do not have access to technology at home, students will be given time in class to complete each part of the project. If work requiring technology needs to be completed outside of class time, students may work on assignments during their "Learning Wave" time. Learning Wave is a homeroom-type period before lunch. The focus is literacy, but students may occasionally redirect their time to complete assignments. Like students who work slower or need more processing time, there is a place for gifted students in collaborative teams. The gifted students can serve as leaders on their teams, but should be cautioned against taking over and completing all of the work. This project can serve as a bridge to unite students from all cultures, because the topic is one that effects people regardless of race, gender, or social class.